The Gentle Giant
by LokisChampion
Summary: Amy is a S.H.E.I.L.D. agent who meets Bruce Banner once before Loki strikes. As certain events fall into place around them, their relationship takes difficult turns, leading them on a ride into the unknown. COMPLETE!
1. Outnumbered

I ran through the busy streets of New York, hearing the bullets shooting behind me. As I dodged through alleys, hid behind corners to attempt at catching my breath, I would shoot them but I wouldn't know if I hit them or not, running for my life again.

My boots hit the pavement hard as I began overheating in my leather jacket, jeans and red V-neck, my breathing coming faster as my lungs burned. I heard the sounds of car horns at the again failed attempts to buy myself some time. I turned and took some shots before running again. I hit the button on my ear piece and heard the ringing when Clint picked up shortly after.

"Hello?"

"Hey! I need backup now!" I breathed, still running. I slid to a halt before bolting down a busy street, busy with people and cars. It might help.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked.

I felt the anger rising as I pushed frantically through the crowd of people, not daring to slow my pace. "Look, it seemed like a good idea when I was behind a computer screen." I yelled, trying to level my breathing and dashing through stopped cars. I heard gunshots and I ducked, covering my head with my hands only for an instant before pressing on. "I'll admit that when I found out I was severely outnumbered that it now seems like it a stupid idea!"

"You don't have to yell at me, Amy."

"Just send the damn backup!" I yelled, tripping over the curb before sprinting down the sidewalk, people moving to the side, watching me run. I dared to glance over my shoulder and saw they were gaining on me. "Shit." U cursed into the phone, pushing my already tired body harder.

I turned the corner and nearly had to screech to a halt when I held my gun facing skyward, then shot 3 rounds. I heard the screaming civilians as they cleared the road. I also heard footsteps of the many men closing in behind me. I ran onto the hood of a car and jumped into the air, spinning around and shot at my pursuers, who ducked. I hit one in the foot, but that still left 4 running towards me, one shooting.

Landing on my feet, I stumbled when I heard it. A loud scream, or rather roar filled my ears as my knees hit the pavement, air filling my fiery lungs. I slowly stood and watched the giant green man thrashing the men around like rag dolls, then throwing them hard into cars with screams of victory.

I felt another wave of fear take me as oxygen entered my lungs quickly, spurring my legs again into a run away from the monster. I was soon enveloped in a giant, green fist, I screamed but it faded when he put me over his massive shoulder. I was gazing at the remaining enemies following us in a car. I held my gun as steady as I could and shot. I watched as the car screeched on its breaks and spiraled out of control, barreling into a light pole.

I was still trying to catch my breath when more men on motorcycles shot at the giant carrying me. I heard his grunts rumble through my body and I again held my gun as steady as possible before shooting at the men. I hit one of them in the chest, and the other front tire of the bike, sending him splattering hard into the concrete.

I turned in the green man's grasp and saw we were heading towards Stark Tower, almost there. I sighed in relief only as we crashed through the glass and he stopped abruptly, sending me flying off him and into the wall hard, slumping to the ground. I regained my stance the gun was still in my hand. I noticed the giant was now growling at me, looking like he was ready to charge as his nostrils flared.

"Amy!" I heard Clint say somewhere off to the side, but I held up a hand, and I knew he stopped. As the giant began to walk towards me, I had to scream to get his attention.

"No! No!" I screamed. Surprisingly, he stopped, but his colossal fists were still balled into fists. "I'm sorry they shot at you! They wanted me!" I yelled, pushing the gun away from me, than raising my hands in the air. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

The beast exhaled big breaths and watched me.

As I finally began to catch my breath, I looked into his eyes. "Thank you."

When I said this, he began to shrink and turn a pale color. Clint walked me away from the scene as Tony Stark walked to the shrinking man with clothes under his arm. When Clint and I were out of earshot, I slumped against the wall, giving him an exhausted smile.

"That's your idea of backup?"


	2. Compromised

I sat outside the tunnel leading to the garage of the S.H.I.E.L.D base, which quivered with massive power from the tesseract. Fury stationed me here while I listened to the radio, their screaming and yelling at each other. I sat in the silence, listening, perched on my motorcycle, my gun in its holster, waiting.

"Amy, watch for Barton in a Jeep with a an Asgaurdian named Loki in the back."

Just as it left the speaker of the radio, they sped off beside me. I sped off on the gravel and shot after them. I gained ground as I took out my gun and shot some rounds, clearly missing, but it didn't matter.

"What's going on?" I heard the radio spew.

"I've got them!" I hollered, shooting more rounds as I swerved around some bigger rocks, gaining when Clint sped up, flooring it.

I watched as the blue of the end of the scepter grew brighter, and then it flew towards me. I swerved out of the way, hitting the ground to my left. The tremor shot up my body, making me sway a little bit before I gained ground again. Soon after, another shot flew to my left, again I swerved. I shot some more at the Jeep but one final shot blasted on the front tire, making me fly forward through the air and hit the ground hard with a scream as the bike landed on my ankle, the crack echoing in my ears.

"What happened?" Fury's voice rang out in my radio. I took aim and emptied the rest of my magazine before I collapsed into the dirt, taking in deep breaths before cringing at the pain in my ankle. I slammed the empty gun into the dirt, frustration eating at my insides.

"I lost them, I need backup! I'm hurt!" I hollered, clutching my knee as I kicked the bike off me, curling up into a ball. "I might heal before you get here, but it hurts!"

"Coulson, get there now!"

"Yes sir." I heard Coulson say over the radio and I waited, watching the blue dot of the scepter recede into the darkness of the night.

It took a good half an hour before Coulson and some other people pulled up, the headlights beaming on me like a UFO over its prey, and I squinted into the light as Coulson got out, along with some other agents to help lift me up. I winced as they lifted me into the vehicle and sped back off to base.

"How's it healed?" Coulson asked.

"The bone feels almost done, but something feels off." I said, cringing and clutching at my leg, closing my eyes tight.

"Here." Another agent knelt in front of me, taking my leg in his hands against my stifled wail of pain as my hands balled into fists. He was taking some duct tape and two pieces of wood, making a sort of splint. "Maybe that'll help."

"How close did you get?" Coulson asked.

"Damn close enough." I grumbled, the anger of my failure returning. "I won't let them get away next time."

"It's alright. We know you tried your hardest, so there's nothing wrong with that." Coulson squeezed my shoulder lightly with a smile when I heard Fury's voice barking over the radio, which he turned to with an aggravated face.

I turned my gaze to watch the earth moving under us as we sped off into the night, remaining silent for the rest of the drive.


	3. Banner

Chapter 3

I stood inside the boat as the people on deck were strapping all the equipment down, the engines frothing water everywhere, preparing to take flight. Nick Fury told me that I'm in charge of Dr. Banner when he arrives, so I couldn't help but feel a little nervous. I had gone along to Calcutta with Natasha; I stood outside the shack along with around fifty other armed agents in case of an emergency. Luckily, no such thing occurred.

I leaned against the railing, watching everyone working on their computers, some agents walked around barking orders as Fury stood in the center of his two computer monitors. I found myself thinking of Clint, hoping he is ok when I saw Natasha walk through the double doors with Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner following behind.

The distinct chatter around me increased as people scrambled to issue orders, I knew the reflection panels had been engaged when I stood and walked to Natasha, who smiled before I walked to Steve, offering my hand. He shook it politely before Agent Coulson started talking to him. I turned my attention to Bruce, who was speaking to some agents about spectrometers while he would calibrate them to recognize the signature for gamma rays.

Fury turned to me. "Dr. Banner, this is Amy. She will be your assistant on this trip as well as a friend."

_Showtime,_ I thought as I walked up to Dr. Banner. He extended his hand, which I shook gently. "Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Banner."

"Please, call me Bruce. Much easier and the pleasure is all mine." He said, rolling up the cuffs of his purple button down shirt. "You've got a place for me to work?"

"Right this way." I said and led him through various hallways before we entered the lab. He set his jacket on the back of a nearby chair when I placed a remote with a red button on the table before him.

"If you need me, press this button. Is there anything you need?" I asked.

"No thanks, but I will use this when I need to." He said as I nodded and walked towards the door. "Thank you, Amy."

I turned as he mentioned my name. "You're very welcome." I said with a nod before walking back to the bridge.

_He really doesn't remember_, I thought, trying to push the hurt from my body.


	4. Fear of Failure

I fell to the floor hard, Andrew had kicked my legs out from underneath me, all air had escaped my burning lungs. He then straddled me before the buzzer blared through the training room.

I tried to catch my breath as he stepped off me and a few other agents came to help from the crowds of them watching around the perimeter. One began scanning my vitals with a sort of remote while another took my pulse and the third handed me a water bottle. It was then that I noticed my clothes sticking to my hot body, the fatigue of my legs making them shake.

Andrew turned to me, offering his hand. "That is always your weak point. You have to work on that." He said as he helped me stand. I tugged on my shirt and straightened my bangs as I heard a little beep in my earpiece.

"We continue this later. Excuse me." I said as he saluted and I walked out of the training ring, heading to the lab. Taking a quick glance at my watch, the face read 6 A.M.

I heard Andrew's soothing voice in my headpiece. "You sure you're ok? You looked a little shaken."

I placed my fingers at my ear. "I'm fine. You always give it your all. It would be unfair for me not to." I said, smiling as I walked through the dim hallways of the ship.

"Ok. See you on the bridge, Aimz."

I smiled at his use of my nickname. Andrew and I had been friends for years and I hoped to never lose his friendship. When I reached my destination, I knocked on the door before it slid open. Bruce stood at his computer, furiously punching away at numbers as he transferred it from a piece of paper.

"What are you doing up so early?" I asked, standing on the opposite side of the invisible computer monitor that hung from the ceiling.

He smiled at me. "A vision of failure, I guess." He said and I fell silent as he punched in the last few numbers before downloading the code into the computer. A results bar rose up along with a picture of the globe and he stepped out from behind the monitor. "Why are you up?"

"Well, nightmares always keep me up early in the morning. Why not make productive use of those hours?" I said as he removed his glasses and folded them in his hands. "But, you rang? Do you need anything?" I asked.

"Um, do you want to get some coffee?" He asked and my heart fluttered before I nodded.

"Sure." I said as we walked through the quiet hallways, no talking seemed necessary as we approached the cafeteria. When we each took our separate ways of preparing our drinks, he sat at a table and I joined him shortly afterwards. I sipped my hot cocoa as he sipped his, from the smell, fairly strong coffee and our eyes roamed around the quiet room.

"How was your first night?" I asked, letting the cup warm my fingers as he took a sip, nodding as he swallowed.

"It was pretty good. Got more sleep than I expected. This environment is surprisingly easy to adapt to."

I nodded. "That's good."

We fell into an interesting silence before Bruce broke it.

"So, what are your nightmares about, if you don't mind me asking?"

I swallowed before speaking. "It's fine. They're always relatively the same. About my parents, the basic situation is always the same but very small, minute details always change according to where I am. But waking up never changes. I always scream, in cold sweats and they always lead to some tears." I gazed at my cocoa, smiling. "Now it's part of my daily routine."

"How long have you had them?" Bruce asked softly, sipping his coffee.

"I've had them since their death. But let me answer the time portion you asked for, which is about ten years."

He looked down at his coffee before I saw his fingertips graze my fingers, the sensation making me feel a flame glow inside me as I met his eyes. "I'm sorry." He said.

"No worries, Bruce. Time heals wounds." I said as we continued our coffee with a little more happy tones of conversation.


	5. Talk To Me

I sat in my room reading by the light of one lamp while a jazz song played through my stereo. I put the book down having just finished it, leaned back and stretched. My eyes shifted to my bookcase, scanning the spines when I heard a familiar beep in my earpiece.

Looking to the clock, it read midnight as I got up and checked over my reflection. I had a blue button up shirt that hung open over a grey tank top, and black spandex shorts falling to just above my knees. Nodding, I walked out the door and towards the lab. Well, Bruce's quarters section of it, I should say.

A few minutes later, I knocked on his door and it slid open. I walked into the dark room, I saw Bruce sitting in the sheets on his bed in a getup similar to mine. When he saw me, he put his book down and sat up, motioning for me to come closer, which I did.

"Is everything ok? Need anything?" I asked, standing beside his bed.

"Actually, I wanted somebody to talk to." His voice was scruffy, light and then I sat on the bed, crossing my legs.

"Can't sleep?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Apparently one was enough." He said with a chuckle. "What about you?"

I fiddled with the sheets below my feet. "Tonight the horrors are having a play, so it seems."

He nodded. "I, uh, want to know you, Amy." Bruce said, meeting my eyes with the brown ones behind the glasses. "You seem like an incredible person. I want to see just how incredible you are."

I nodded as my heart gently fluttered in my chest a little. "Ok, then you get the first question this time." I said, smiling as I watched him contemplate.

"What did you do before this? What did your life consist of?"

I straightened my back before speaking. "Well, I attended school along with all the other kids, but I never made friends. My parents had be take lots of self-defense classes, martial arts, boxing, pepper spray tutorials." I chuckled. "I became intent on honing my physical abilities by high school, hence my only friend Andrew. I was nothing special, really, practically invisible in school. The only people I warmed up to were the teachers. I tutored students, but it didn't help me make any friends, it isolated me more." I said, watching Bruce take that in before I finished. "When I came here though, I became somebody."

He nodded before swallowing. "Your turn."

I bit my lip. "Um, is there something you wish hadn't happened in the past? Something you could erase?"

Bruce sat up, moving closer to me, nodding. "The incident that started this whole mess with him." He said, playing with the sheets as I listened. "When I was in elementary school, I built a bomb and I placed it in the basement of the school. It didn't go off, thank god, but that attracted some, well, special attention from specific, unwanted parties." His eyes met mine. "That would be my do-over."

I nodded. "Now you."

"How did you become an agent?" He asked.

"Andrew, actually. He'd met me around the time my parents died. He then introduced me to Natasha. I demonstrated my skills to her, then to Clint and they put in my name. About a month later, I got a uniform, keys and a list of rules to go by. I've been an agent for at least, let's see, seven years." I said and he nodded. "What were your parents like?"

He exhaled. "Nothing like yours, I'm sure. Um, my father was an atomic physicist but he was an abusive person and an alcoholic. He thought the exposure from his clean energy nuclear power mutated me and my signs of superior intellect made him positive of this. Obviously the alcohol added fuel to this fire, but he started abusing me nearly daily and when my mother intervened, he killed her." He looked down at his twiddling thumbs. "I've never told anyone. Luckily his own bragging put him away."

"I'm sorry." I said but my voice cracked. His eyes came to my face as my gaze fell to my own hands.

"Time heals wounds, right?" The use of my phrase made my eyes lift to his. The gentle smile on his lips mirrored on mine within a few seconds when he asked the next question. "Um, what happened to your parents?" He asked this so softly that his voice wavered.

"I was at school when the police came. They told me that something terrible had happened to them and they took me in the car and back home. When I got there, I saw them." I swallowed as I twisted with the cuffs on my shirt sleeves. "Dad was slumped over on his desk, his face in his favorite book. Mom was in the kitchen, face down on the floor surrounded by fresh cookies, her favorite flavor. The blood covered the floor around their heads, still flowing when I got there. The only signs of forced entry were the bullet holes in the windows, they say from sniper rifles. The cop gave me a note with a symbol on it and that symbol led me to an encounter I've had once but I was outnumbered. Luckily," My eyes came to his. "Someone saved me."

I saw Bruce clench his jaw when I spoke. "What's your greatest regret?"

"My lack of control." He said. "If I had control over him, I wouldn't have so much innocent blood on my hands. If I had control, he wouldn't be a part of my life. That boy would've never walked into our range that day with the bomb, I never would've been exposed to the explosion that started it all. I wouldn't be such a horrible person."

I took his hand in mine. "But then you wouldn't be sitting with me. You save lives, Bruce. Sometimes you have to spend some lives to save the lives of billions. Everyone faces this decision. And I know that soon enough, you'll see that one of those people you saved was me."

His fingers tightened around mine as our game of questions continued, our eyes always locking at one point or another, but our hands never drifted far apart.

I had a feeling that this might be the perfect start.


	6. Tracking Device

"Ow!" Bruce said as Tony poked him with a pen.

"Nothing?" Tony asked as I walked into the lab with Steve beside me.

"Hey! Are you nuts?" Steve said as I hopped on a computer in the corner, going through some files and noticing the work that Bruce had left on the computer screen to my left.

"It's fine, I would come if I couldn't handle pointy things." Bruce said with a smile on his face. I looked up at the company as his eyes met mine. We exchanged smiles before I logged off the computer and I took a tracker insert from a drawer to my right. I programmed it to run recognize from long distance and walked towards Bruce, who continued dinking around on his small tablet.

Steve and Tony were talking about something in particular that I blocked out as I motioned for Bruce's arm. He put the tablet down and rolled up his sleeves, taking his glasses off and pinching the bridge of his nose. I slowly inserted the needle into his arm and I was surprised when he didn't flinch away or question my motives. Once it was done, it beeped and I removed it. I placed a small cotton swab where the bleeding slowly flowed and he smiled as I walked to throw the needle away. Once it was done, I put the device away and walked back towards the group.

As Tony and Steve got into an argument, I smiled before asking Bruce. "Do you need anything?"

He shook his head, stealing a glance at the two bickering agents. "No. Thanks, though." He said and I nodded and walked out of the room, back to the training room where Andrew and some other people were waiting to engage in combat.

"Ready to lose?" Andrew asked, rolling up his sleeves.

"I'm ready to kick your ass!" I said as we gathered in the ring, waiting for the bell to sound.


	7. Captured God

I stood with Natasha, watching Loki stand in his cell, knowing now we had nowhere to put Bruce if he changed into the Hulk. Andrew stood beside me, not speaking a word as we all observed the God, now caged before us.

Andrew walked with me towards the control panel as Natasha engaged Loki in conversation. Andrew spoke in my ear softly.

"Have you heard from Fury?" He whispered.

"No. It's making me nervous. He shouldn't press Bruce so much. It could trigger him." I whispered as I wrapped my arms around myself. Since our midnight talk, all I could think about was Bruce.

"Maybe we should go check on him." Andrew said.

"After this." I said. Just as the words left my lips, Loki smacked his fist hard on the glass.

"I won't touch Barton, not until I make him kill you. Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull!"

Natasha walked towards Andrew as I walked up to the glass. "Keep your foul tongue behind your teeth, monster."

"You brought the monster." Loki said, his cold green eyes holding my gaze when Natasha spoke in her earpiece, bolting from the room. Andrew took my arm in his and walked me out.

"Go to the bridge, I'll be there in a minute." I said. Andrew nodded and we separated. I headed to the lab, looking through the glass before knocking. Fury looked and quickly waved me away before Bruce met my eyes. I nodded and headed to the bridge.

Andrew stood at the head, looking down at Agent Hill, who was talking to him about something. I stayed back, watching people work when a boom vibrated through the boat.

The alarms blared around us as people scrambled to different stations. I made my way out of the bridge down to mechanics below, helping when I noticed something on the security cameras.

Stopping, I zoomed in on the detention level, noticing a familiar face. I smiled and headed that way. It will be nice to see someone like Clint for a change.


	8. Detention Level

I crouched behind some big pipes as Clint walked by. After a few seconds, I silently got up and walked behind him. I felt a little nervous because I could never defeat Clint, even in practice, but I pushed it out of my mind when he suddenly turned.

He threw some punches immediately, I avoided them when I punched his stomach a few times before he pulled out his daggers. He lunged and I easily weaved away from him. I was always light on my feet but this impressed me as I avoided nearly every attack. I took hold of one of the poles, swung around it and kicked Clint in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards as few feet before I threw some punches again.

Everything changed when he grasped my wrist in a painful fist

I bit back my yelp as he punched my jaw, my chest and then twisted my arm behind me. I screamed as he kicked my back, I stumbled forward, falling on my stomach. I swiftly spun away just as he would have pounced on me, I kicked his knee hard and stood.

He fell to his knees before grasping my ankle and pulling my foot out from under me. I fell on my back, temporarily knocking the wind out of my as Clint straddled me. I could see the abnormal blue in his eyes as I tried to speak in my earpiece.

"Natasha…Barton…detention-

He punched me hard in the cheek and I felt the sting in the bone as he tore the earpiece off and threw it out of range before his hands closed around my neck, tightening slowly. My hands clawed at his wrists as I started to cough slightly, closing my eyes as they watered.

"No one will save you." Clint said in that familiar scruffy voice. "You'll die by the hands of a friend."

I opened my eyes as my breathing turned shallow, gasping as I began falling into a fit of choking.

Just as my eyes closed again, Clint's hold released. I opened my eyes to see Natasha gad gained his attention. Her met my eyes before hollering as I coughed.

"Hulk! Level three!" She hollered as I nodded and ran out, catching my breath as I pushed past people to get to Level three.

As I ran, I bumped into an armed intruder. I pulled the gun past me and kicked his chin with my boot, instantly knocking him unconscious as he fell to the ground in a heap. I kept the gun, shooting others as I ran when I was stopped, finally, on Level three by Thor flying into the wall, creating a hole.

"Thor, get back!" I hollered as I watched him get behind an open doorway. I chucked the gun across the room when the Hulk burst through the wall. I covered my face from the bits of debris when I looked up, moving into action.

"Stop!" I hollered, extending my hand.

He slowed but pounded his massive fists on the ground, growling at me, his massive green body pulsing with energy.

"Everything is alright!" I yelled as he bared his teeth at me. "You have to listen! We're not your enemies!"

He grunted at me, relaxing his fists as I exhaled, letting my hand fall to my side.

"I'm a friend." I said, sighing.

That's when I saw it.

"No! Don't!" I screamed when the bullets came streaming through the windows and hitting the Hulk. He immediately lapsed back into his angry state, shaking as he growled and turned to the jet just outside the windows.

I was tackled to the ground hard for cover by Thor, who shielded me with his body. I peered over his shoulder long enough to see Hulk run through the window and land on the jet when they tumbled out of view. I could still hear his growls as they moved farther away from the ship.


	9. They Called It

"Agent Coulson is down." Fury said when I got a new earpiece. Andrew sat with me in the bridge as he tended to my wounds, which included a busted lip, bleeding cheekbone and a cup above my eyebrow. They would heal almost instantly after he cleaned them.

"They called it." I said softly as Andrew sat in front of me, dabbing my cuts with cotton balls, stinging like hell but it had to be done. When he finished, he put some clear ointment over them as I felt the healing begin, the skin stretching to close over them. He smiled before patting my hand and leaving to tend to other injured. I stood and walked to the Comm room where Fury stood with Tony and Steve.

We exchanged nods before I sat down and pulled up a monitor on the table, punching in my ID number to access my user. I pulled up a tracking box before tapping the search bar.

INSERT TRACKER ID:

I punched in the code that was on the tube I put in Bruce, pressing ENTER. I watched as it scanned the globe. Leaning back in the chair, I watched Steve pick up a bloody Captain America Limited Edition trading card that Coulson owned.

"There was an idea, Stark knows this." Fury said. My eyes flicked to Tony, who averted his eyes when they met before I glanced down at the screen.

SEARCHING…

"You see, Coulson died still believing in heroes." Tony stood and walked off, leaving Steve, Fury and myself. "Well, it's an old fashioned notion."

At these words, the screen beeped and I looked down. The monitor gave me coordinates for the signature, a picture of the location and Bruce's vital signs. I sighed at realizing that he was still alive, relief flooding my tense body. I took a note of the location in my phone before logging out of my user and going to Tony, who was undoubtedly arranging plans to depart.


	10. Prove My Strength

We flew towards Stark Tower behind Iron Man in a plane, Clint and Natasha steering and Steve and I holding onto bars in the back, from the ceiling.

"You sure you can handle this?" Steve asked me.

I nodded. "I'm tough." I said.

He smiled. "I don't doubt it."

"You shouldn't" I said and we laughed a little as we neared the Tower. When we got closer, Loki and Thor were fighting on the balcony; I could see them through the windows as we stopped, hovering close by, weapons at the ready. Within a second or two of us being there, I saw Loki's scepter flash brighter and the next we were tumbling through the air, Steve and I were holding on for dear life as I knew that I would like to deal with Loki myself.

"Hang on!" Natasha screamed over her shoulder as I became disoriented from the many windows, buildings and moving aliens around us in the windows. We hit the ground hard as I let go of the bars, hitting the ground hard before the door opened. I jumped up and ran out, getting my gun and Taser ready.

"We have to get back up there!" Steve said as we ran around some busted cars. I took in the scene. Already plenty of aliens flying around, civilians screaming and running, explosions, pure chaos.

"Finally backup!" Tony said in the earpiece. "Someone help?"

"I'll help." I said, stepping back between Clint and Natasha. "Give me a minute."

"What do you think you're doing?" Clint asked.

I gave him a cross look. "Helping, genius." I said.

He scoffed at me before I spotted my ride. "See you."

I ran towards a flipped car, jumped on the hood before lifting myself off the roof and hooking my arm onto an oncoming alien cruiser. Now airborne, I steadied myself before hoisting upright and taking my gun out, shooting the group in the legs. They let out high pitched shrieks as I jumped up and onto the surface, kicking them off as they fell what must be hundreds of feet. I moved up and attempted to steer when I almost hit a building. Screaming, I jerked the steering to the right, narrowly avoiding the glass but I got it under control.

"Tony, where are you?" I asked in my earpiece.

"I'll lay them out for you, down 39th!" He said and I turned around, flying faster as I shot at some other alien cruisers, destroying their thrusters as they collided with the concrete buildings, sometimes cars, causing explosions that I quickly flew by and others just spun out of control.

Just as he said, Tony flew in front of me and I lined up behind him, also straggling some enemies. I opened fire, shooting them, either the drivers, passengers or the cruiser itself, either way inflicting damage. I saw Tony look back at me and give me a thumbs up.

"Nice shooting, rookie." He said and I smiled.

"At least I can fly these things!" I said as I separated, heading down a road that would intersect 39th later on, but shooting others out of the air in the meantime when I heard it. A massive growl came from the open portal and I slowed and looked up.

"That can't be good." I said to nobody in particular.


	11. Seeing

I stared up at the gigantic alien flying down from the portal. It was like train, plane and robot in one that easily ranged to be as long as any skyscraper in New York. I gaped but kept moving when I felt some aliens shooting from around me. I flew down 4th and intercepted some bad guys, shooting them when I noticed many forces on the ground. The police, army and military vehicles were all there and attempting to aid us when I heard a sharp shriek in my ear, causing me to cringe when someone's voice rang out over the frequency.

"Amy? Can you hear me?"

"Bruce! Thank god you're here!" I said, shifting violently to the right as I dodged much oncoming fire as friendly fire occurred.

"Where are you?" He asked through static.

"Um, coming down 5th?" I said, ducking my head as some glass shattered around me from a building. "I'm so happy you're alive!"

"Ok. Come to 10th!" He hollered and I instantly swerved around, trying to bank but failing as some enemies skidded to halts or just smashing into the concrete buildings, exploding on impact. I turned onto the street and saw Hulk smashing the skull of the gigantic alien as his tail moved forward, his armor falling to expose his flesh. I instantly shot some rounds into it when Tony shot something that exploded into a flame bright and hot enough that it drove me upwards into the sky as Tony flew beside me with Clint in hand, stopping to set him on the ledge of a building as he began losing arrows immediately.

_Alright_, I thought, _let's get his party started!_


	12. Help

I remained airborne for most of the fight, occasionally flying high to help Clint and Tony, then dipping low to help Natasha and Steve with some on the ground. I knew I had to help as much as I could, and now was the time to prove myself.

When I saw the lightening shoot from the Chrysler building, I stopped and watched the aliens take it by force, and I smiled.

"Way to go, Thor." I said to myself when I heard Natasha and Barton arguing over the earpiece.

"Nat, what are you doing?" Clint asked.

"Uh, a little help!" Natasha said.

Moving instantly, I flew towards Stark Tower, where I saw Loki flying after Natasha at an alarming speed. I pushed this poor cruiser for all its worth and came up on Loki, ready as I saw Clint's arrow fly. In the instant the arrow exploded, I jumped off the cruiser, grasping Loki's ankle as he fell down to the balcony of Stark Tower together, rolling in shards of glass. I stood quickly, but Loki beat me to it. He took a hold of my ankle and hurled me across the empty space, through the glass window and I hit the ground hard, rolling a few feet before I stood, grasping my gun and pointing it at the God. He teleported so he crossed the drop, smiling at me with his scepter in hand.

I shot a bullet at him, but it disintegrated to dust before it hit him. He chuckled at me before his scepter started glowing. I moved out of the way as it hit the ground at my left, I took aim and shot two more bullets at him, but I neglected to move in time.

The blue shot hit my hip, sending the crack through my ears as my scream echoed around me, the force shattering the bone as I fell to the ground. I gasped, trying to move, but it hurt enough to make me immobile.

Loki chuckled down at me. "You can't win, foolish girl." He said, stepping on broken glass closer to me. I moved but another blue shot hit my ankle, shattering it as I screamed again, the pain racking my body as I moved to lay on my back, hands clutching my legs. I could feel the blood loss already as I cried in pain at every movement.

Just as he would take a step towards me, Loki was taken from his stance and smashed around like a ragdoll. My vision blurry, I could see the gigantic green form of the Hulk doing the deed as he smashed Loki one final time to the ground. The god didn't move.

"Puny god." Hulk said as he walked over to me. He bent over me as my breathing was quick and shallow, my eyes attempting to close as I kept them open. The Hulk gently scooped me up but the pain was too unbearable to not let out a scream of pain. He looked down at me with such hurt in his eyes as he held me secure in one hand and he pounded over to the edge. He stepped over it and we started falling down the Tower, his hand holding onto the glass, making a solid line as I watched the sky.

When we landed, Hulk ran with me in his arms, I cringed at every move, trying to bite my lip, keeping the screams back as I knew he was trying to help me. He watched me every once in a while as I struggled to keep my eyes open. I knew my healing wouldn't save me this time, it was too bad of a wound and to foreign inflicted at that. I tried to give him a smile but it must be obvious how pained it was when he stopped at his destination. I looked down at the coffee shop that I remembered Bruce had talked about one night and I looked back up at him.

I saw Bruce then, just for a moment, in this big eyes as he slowly set me down on the concrete, as gently as I knew he could as I still cried out in pain when a few people came around me, a medic coming around the corner. Hulk kept his eyes on me.

"Go. It's ok." I said, holding a gigantic finger in one shaking hand as he still was reluctant to go. "Thank you, Bruce." I said as I fell back onto a gurney.

He grunted before running off. I smiled at his receding green form before everything went black.


	13. Bandaged Flowers

I woke up in the medical bay of the ship we had been on for this entire trip. I blinked the harsh light from my eyes a few times before looking around at my surroundings. Looking to my right, I saw Andrew, smiling down at me as he patted my head.

"Hey, Aimz." He said. "How are you feeling?"

I shifted a little in bed. "Stiff." I said and he let out a small chuckle. I smiled at his reaction before looking to my right.

I did a double take.

Bruce had a chair pulled up to the bed and his head and arms was leaning on the mattress. He was asleep, his hands holding his glasses while the arm farthest from me was slightly touching my leg. I swallowed when I looked back to Andrew.

"How long has he been here?" I asked.

"The entire time. Hasn't even left your side to get a cup of coffee." He looked at Bruce just as I did, then he leaned down and kissed my forehead. "I'm happy your back. I'll give you some time when he wakes."

I smiled at Andrew as he picked up his jacket and walked quietly out the door, speaking with a doctor and Fury just outside when he shut the door behind him. My eyes fell back to Bruce's sleeping form.

I looked down at what I was wearing. I had on a black tank top but I couldn't feel any pants. Slightly lifting up the blue blanket, I found that I was wearing a sorry excuse for boxers. I was shocked at the state of my legs. The scars were horrendous, like scratches from a cat combined with burn marks, but by far the hip was the worst whereas my ankle looked a little better. Laying the blanket back down, I looked at some flowers that was on the table at the foot of the bed. Most likely from Natasha and Clint. I leaned my head back on the pillows and sighed when I heard Bruce sniffing as he woke.

Looking to him, he pushed himself up with his arms before putting his glasses on the chair behind him. Rubbing his eyes, I smiled as he yawned before stretching his arms over his head.

"Hey, you." I said softly as he looked at me.

He smiled as he placed his hands on my leg. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"A little stiff." I said and he chuckled. "What happened?"

He stood from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed. "You went into a healing coma. With some aid by me while you were in this, I boosted your healing capabilities after I thoroughly cleaned the wounds and inspected them. You were out for about 24 hours. Not as long as I would have expected." He said before standing and walking to the other side of the bed. He lifted up the blanket and nodded at the state of my legs. "Very impressive. Inspiring too." He said, smiling at me before he turned to my arms, taking out carefully the few machines I had been hooked to.

"Thanks for saving me." I said softly, watching his fingers working on my arm before he walked again to the other side and worked on the other arm. "Without you there these last few times, I, well, I wouldn't be here."

He watched me as he placed a hand behind my shoulder, and I slowly sat up as he sat on the bed. I popped my back a few times before he spoke to me, taking my hand in his.

"No, I want to thank you, Amy." He said, looking into my eyes. "When you talk to him, you risk your life. But in doing so, you brought out some awareness of me." He said. "I remember everything." He started tearing up a little before swallowing. "I helped you kill your family's murderers…" He wiped away some tears falling from his eyes. "But I couldn't save you when you needed me…"

I took in a breath before leaning forward and taking him in my arms. He held my tightly, but still a little gentle was in his body as he cried into my shoulder. "I'm so sorry." He said in my ear.

"No, Bruce, listen to me." I said, pulling back to see his face. "No matter what you think, you did save me." I stroked my thumb across his cheek, wiping some tears away. "I asked for the pain, believe me." I said, and he chuckled at that, a smile brightening his face. "But sometimes you can't escape everything uninjured. But I am eternally grateful for you, Bruce. You are someone I will always remember."

He nodded before I took him in my arms again. As we held each other tight, I wished for this embrace to never end. This felt like home to me. Maybe it could be.


	14. It's A Date

We stood in a circle around Thor and Loki holding the tesseract. Loki was cuffed and his mouth was covered as they vanished into a bright blue light, shooting up into the heavens. I stood with Andrew by our car, leaning against it when Clint and Natasha came over.

"Hey, kiddo." Clint said, giving me a quick hug before Natasha did the same.

"Thanks for the flowers." I said.

"Flowers?" Clint asked.

"Those weren't from you?" I asked.

Natasha smiled. "Those were from Bruce."

I paused before looking at Bruce as he spoke to Tony, shaking hands with him.

I walked past the group. "Excuse me." I said as Tony got in the car and Bruce opened the door. When he saw me, he smiled and walked towards me. He gave me a hug before pulling away, his hands grasping me arms.

"It's great that you can walk." He said.

"How did you know those were my favorite flowers?" I asked, a smile on my lips as it spread to his.

"Lucky guess?" He asked and we both laughed a little before he turned serious. "Amy, with everything we've been through, I want you to know that you are very precious to me."

"And you to me." I said as he smiled. We grew silent before I noticed him leaning in closer. I stole glances at his lips before they met in a small, careful and gentle kiss. When we broke, our smiles were small but big all at once when he gave me a hug again, holding me tight in his safe arms.

"Um, how about lunch next week?" He asked when he pulled away.

"Great. I'd love it." I said and he smiled.

"Great. I'll call you with more details later." He kissed my cheek tenderly before walking back to Tony's car. When he got in, he waved as they pulled away. I watched until they disappeared around the corner before Natasha came over and smiled.

"I'm jealous." She said and I gave her a playful push.

"You have Clint." I said and he came up behind us.

"Congrats, girlie." Clint said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "You know what would make this day better?"

"What?" Andrew asked, standing beside me.

"A night on the town." He said as we all linked arms and began walking towards our company vehicle. "Let's go enjoy it!"


End file.
